1992 Mega Monster Miata Is For When You Want A Small Sports Car But Boosted V8 Is Life
You can’t fool me CTzens. Ever since I bought a 1995 Ford Mustang 5.0-litre V8 a couple months ago there’s been a question burning a hole in your enthusiast minds. And by burning, I mean something you probably never even considered until you saw the title of this article.
What would happen if Phil - Alex’s down-but-not-out MX-5 and arguably the most popular car in all of Europe - got all giggity with my as-yet-nameless Mustang - arguably the least known car in all of North America - and had a mutant child? To answer that mind-boggling and somewhat disturbing question I present the 1992 Miata Mega Monster, currently selling on eBay in Rhode Island USA for a no reserve price of $15,600 at the time of writing.
What makes it a Mega Monster you ask? The monster would be the Ford 5.0-litre V8 stuffed under the bonnet, backed by a T-5 five-speed manual swapping the cogs. For the record, that’s the exact same setup you’d find in Fox Body and early SN-95 Mustangs, just like my 1995 GT. Unlike my Mustang however, this particular 5.0 pushrod V8 has a supercharger. That’s where the Mega comes from, and with a conservative 6.5lb of boost, this Mustang-powered Miata makes 400bhp.
These cars also had strengthened unibodies and tweaked suspension bits to deal with the added weight, which is said to be around 130kg. Considering NA MX-5s are barely 900kg to start with, it’s not like the Monster Miatas and their V8 engines are portly. The conversion did add a bit of front bias to the weight distribution, but the Miata’s chuckable, care-free handling characteristics remained almost unchanged. I say almost because ludicrous levels of power-on oversteer were trademarks of naturally-aspirated Monster Miatas, never mind the supercharged Mega Monsters.
So now that you know some history on these custom cars, here’s what you need to know about this particular one. Its paint job is bright enough to render the best sunglasses useless. The conversion is so well done that no special body or interior modifications needed to happen. It also has just 4000 miles on the odometer, and judging by that happy face up front, it’s positively thrilled to be out of the garage. Just imagine how much bigger that smile would be with the car laying waste to Evos, M3s, Camaros, Mustangs, and just about anything else on the road?
Anyone care to hedge some bets as to how much the final bid price will be? As I type this with about four days left in the auction it’s already at $15,600. It’s a no-reserve affair so it will have a new owner, and while there are still Miata V8 conversion kits available, the Monster Miatas were the only official turnkey all-in-one cars built. They’re rare and awesome, so I think $30,000 is still a good buy.
Whatever the price, let’s hope the new owner does something about those 4000 original miles. This car was meant to be a terror on the streets, not a tucked-away garage queen. In the meantime, here’s something to give #SavePhil a whole new meaning. Perhaps it’s time to create a new monster Miata and unleash it onto the world.
Comments
Got me thinking of this “viper” miata
The Viperata 😃
Dude this is the new AC Cobra
I’d buy it if I knew I wouldn’t get raped by taxes once it’s in Europe, in order to avoid these taxes I got to buy a car 30+ years older, and those in good condition which don’t cost the equivalent of 2 kidneys are rare.
The only Miata I’d drive, to be painfully honest
Should be called Sweeny Todd because it’s now a hairdresser with the heart of a crowd murdering monster
Really? 30 grand for a 5.0 swaped mk1 miata is a good buy? Thats just not an agreeable statement. You can get a EFI 5.0 with all accessories from a junk yard or a person possibly parting thier late 90’s explorer, Lincoln Town Car and so on for like $450 tops. T5 transmission cost can be anywhere from $100 to $300, Borg Wagner v6 or World Class V8 (I think the SN95 has non-World Class V8 t5 transmissions). NA Miatas can go for as little as $400 for a shel to a clean one for about 4 grand. Use the megasquirt ECU 5.0 installer package for like $650. Get a custom drive shaft for around $300, fab up some motor and tranny mounts, reuse the stock Miata radiator, and tag on some other bits I may have forgotten here and there and BAM!! 5.0 Miata for like at most $7000 and thats on the high side, you could always save money buy getting the Foxbody ECU (AL9 I think) which is more receptive to mods than the SN95 ECU. But for running boost via adding a super charger the megasquirt is the best way to go due to price and it can handle 21PSI as well as be upgraded to 44PSI. The total build could be done for less than $12,000 ( If startimg from a complete running car) and even less if starting from a shell. Plus if you build the car yourself you’ll know more about it and be very capable of doing and routine or extensive maintenance. Built not bought.
When you are very proud of your america but Miata is life
Ford v8 in a miata. I like the idea. Alex should also give phil active aero, carbon fiber wheels, carbon monocoque chassis and make it mid engined.
But an LS2 swap is cheaper and makes also 400HP NA
I would rather use a modern 5.0 (435 hp stock) and then add a Roush Supercharger and bump it up to like 675 hp (According to Roush website). Now there is a Miata I could have a lot of fun in
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